Developers unveil plans for newest phase of W.Va. subdivision

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Developers of the Breckenridge subdivision, who recently donated a 15-acre school site to the local school system, say they plan to build 694 homes in the newest phase of their development.

The Breckenridge East development is expected to mean at least 188 elementary school students, 84 middle school students and 77 high school students, according to plans filed in the Jefferson County Planning Commission office.

The county school system cannot accommodate more students, Jefferson County Board of Education member Doris Cline said Wednesday.

But the fact that Breckenridge East will not be completed until about 2012 gives the school system time to find space for the extra students, Cline said.

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"Every school is overcrowded now. Every single school. We can't take care of any more (students) without more building," Cline said.

The Board of Education is seeking funding sources to build a second high school, which will help accommodate kids from Breckenridge East, Cline said.

Jerry Connelly, the developer of Breckenridge East, has said his company wanted to donate 15 acres for a new elementary school to help build an effective school system.

Breckenridge, a long-established development, started on Country Club Road, which turns off U.S. 340 just north of Charles Town. A total of 282 houses are to be built in the original section and 150 have been constructed, Connelly has said.

Another phase of the development, known as Breckenridge North, will have 44 homes, 37 of which have been completed, Connelly said. Breckenridge North is off Job Corps Road.

The primary access for Breckenridge East will be on Country Club Road, according to plans.

Connelly said Wednesday that his firm, B.C. Partners of Clarksburg, Md., has worked hard to make Breckenridge East an attractive development.

The development will include a pool, a bathhouse, tennis court, a soccer field and other recreational facilities. The developers also propose building a trail system in the development which would connect to the elementary school property, Connelly said.

"We're hoping to do a real nice project," Connelly said.

The 415 acres where Breckenridge East would be built is in the residential growth zone, and construction of homes is expected to start in the fall of next year, plans said.